Tsipras: Corruption and high prices are 'twin siblings'; I now know how to achieve my goals

Corruption and high prices are "twin siblings," with corruption significantly fueling the cost of living, Alexis Tsipras, president of Greece's SYRIZA party, stated in an interview with in.gr. He argued that every euro lost to corruption is a euro diverted from essential public services like schools and hospitals, which are crucial for supporting Greek families during economic crises.

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Corruption and high prices are twin siblings, because a large part of high prices is also due to this corruption.

Tsipras criticized the current government for its "lack of political will to confront monopolies." He rejected the approach of using subsidies to manage the crisis, asserting that such measures fail to address the root causes of problems. "If I give a subsidy to a tenant, as long as the cause creating the problem remains, low supply and high demand, the landlord will find a way to increase the rent, and that subsidy will go into their pocket," he explained.

When asked about potential interventions by a new government, Tsipras eschewed promises of "miracles" or overnight paradises. Instead, he believes politics is "the art of expanding the possible," not just managing the feasible. He outlined a specific plan for the Public Power Corporation (DEI), aiming to transform it from an entity serving "the benefit of funds and private interests" into a public enterprise that "directs competition for the benefit of Greek society and reduces prices."

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Every euro that is missing from the public treasury to go into kickbacks or direct assignments is a euro that is missing from the public school. It is a euro that is missing from the public hospital, from those critical infrastructures that in times of price crisis could support the average Greek family.

Tsipras addressed criticism from his political opponents, who label him as either unrepentant or overly compromised. He noted that receiving diametrically opposed critiques suggests the truth lies somewhere in between. He differentiated his current stance from 2015, stating that while he knew what he wanted then, he lacked the precise method. Now, with the experience of governing through "difficult conditions" and "multiple crises," he asserts he knows "not only what I want, but also how to do it."

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The issue of high prices is not addressed with subsidies. Our logic is not to subsidize in order to deal with the crisis, because you don't solve any problem if you don't combat the cause of the problem.

He also criticized the functioning of the Greek judiciary, describing a "regime" where justice is "essentially emasculated by the leadership appointed by this government."

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I cannot promise you that from one day to the next your life will become a paradise. That your salary will triple. How credible would that be?